In 2011, the Sister Wives Blog started out as a place to talk about the TLC reality show "Sister Wives", Kody Brown and his wives Christine, Robyn, Meri and Janelle. Today we not only discuss the show, we discuss Polygamy in our society, and the public perceptions of the Mormon Religion. We discuss "Polygamy USA" and will be covering "My 5 Wives."
This blog is geared towards the adult reader, so please, no one under the age of 18 years. Thank you!

Monday, January 23, 2012

Latter Day Saints (Mormon) Statistics

People are curious about the LDS (Mormon) religion . It seems that everywhere you look, or hear, people are discussing TV shows and court cases that involve offshoots of Mormonism, and about the effects of the LDS faith in the political arena. According to the website LDS Statistics in February 2010 the term “LDS” was the second most searched religious denomination term on the internet, after “Catholic”.

Population

In 2007, there were over 13 million Mormons worldwide, nearly the same as the number of Jews. Some experts dispute whether this figure represents active LDS members.

As of Nov 2011 There are 136 operating temples, 13 under construction, and 17 announced (not yet under construction)

The church distributes over 5 million copies of the Book of Mormon per year.

There are approximately 800 converts to the Mormon church per day, 300,000 per year. This number is decreasing, but experts disagree on the amount and rate of decline.

As of December 31, 2010, there were 52,225 LDS missionaries serving in 340 church missions throughout the world. Most are young males in their late teens to early twenties. Each usually spends 2 years in the field.

There are 16 missionary training centers globally.

LDS Bishops spend an average of 10 to 20 hours a week in their calling

LDS Member “Life” Statistics

Atheist.com states that Mormons represent one of the largest religious groups within both the CIA and FBI. I could not find this corroborated anywhere.

97% of LDS’s over age 30 have married, which is higher than the marriage rate in the same category for Catholics, Protestants, or those with no religious affiliation. According to NORC (National Opinion Research Centre) data, a higher percentage of LDS’s have been married than any other religious group. 89% of LDS’s have been married, compared to 87% of Protestants, 81% of Catholics, and 83% of Jews.

45% of LDS women and 23% of LDS men have married by age 19. By age 21, 74% of LDS women and 49% of LDS men have married. This is considerably higher than for any other religious group.

66% of married LDS’s say they’re "very happy" in their marriages, compared with 65% of Protestants and Catholics, and 57% of the non-religious. LDS women tend to report more marital happiness than other women, particularly Protestants and Catholics. However, LDS men report lower levels of marital satisfaction than all other men except the non-religious.

18% of LDS’s report they’ve been separated or divorced, compared with 11% of Catholics and 10% of Jews. In a 1985 survey of LDS’s, Mormons reported that 17% had been divorced. LDS’s are more likely to remarry after divorce than persons from other religious groups.

More than 50% of Mormons have 3 or more children, compared with 36% of Catholics and 37% of Protestants. About 20% of Mormons have 5 or more children, compared with only 10% of Protestants and Catholics. Only about 2% of Jews have 5 or more children.

Among all religious groups except LDS, the ideal number of children is 2. 43% of Catholics said that 2 is the ideal number of children, compared with only 23% of LDS. More than 50% of Mormons said that the ideal number of children is 4 or more, compared with 26% of Catholics and 22% of Protestants.

58% of Mormons said that premarital sex is always wrong, compared with 34% of Protestants and 25% of Catholics. About 75% of Protestants and over 66% of Catholics said that extramarital sex and homosexuality are always wrong, compared to 90% of Mormons.

18% of LDS women and 22% of LDS men in the NORC survey graduated from college. These figures are significantly higher than among Protestants and Catholics, but lower than among Jews and the non-religious. 14% of LDS men and 8% of LDS women have a graduate education. Jews and those with no religion have higher percentages, while Catholics and Protestants have lower percentages.

Among both men and women, Mormons have more professionals and managers than Catholics or Protestants but fewer than Jews or "others." They have fewer operative workers than any other religious group except Jews. LDS women are overrepresented among service occupations, with 25% in service occupations, compared with only 19% of Catholic women, the religion with the next highest percentage.· LDS women are more likely to graduate from college than Catholic or Protestant women, but less likely than Jewish or non-religious women. For graduate education the pattern was similar; a higher percentage of LDS than Catholic or Protestant women have a graduate education.

LDS women are more likely to be employed in professional occupations than Catholic or Protestant women. 23% of LDS women are employed in professional occupations, which is similar to Jewish women and women with no religious affiliation.

LDS doctrine prohibits the use of alcohol, tobacco, and other addictive drugs. Among adults and adolescents, usage rates are considerably lower among Mormons than among other religious groups. Only 28% of adult LDS’s say they drink alcohol, compared with 65% of Protestants, 85% of Catholics, and 86% of Jews. 14% say they smoke tobacco, compared with 36% of Protestants, 38% of Catholics, and 28% of Jews.

The National Institute on Drug Abuse survey of substance use among high school seniors reveals substantial differences between Mormons and other religious groups. About 33% of LDS high school seniors said they had used alcohol within the previous 30 days, compared to 62% of Protestants and 75% of Catholics.

The percentage of LDS seniors who smoke is half as large as among the other religious groups: 14% among LDS, 28% among Protestants and 32% among Catholics. According to CDC statistics, Utah has been the state with the lowest smoking rate for many years.

Differences for illegal drugs aren’t as large, but are still lower for LDS students. 14% of LDS seniors had used marijuana during the month before the study, compared to 22% of Protestants and 25% of Catholics. 5% of LDS students had used cocaine during the past month, similar to Protestants and compared to 7% of Catholics, and 8% of Jews.

LDS have longer life expectancies than non-LDS due to lower than average rates of cancer, heart disease, and infant deaths. 85% of LDS report that their health is good or excellent, which is higher than any other religious group. Only 3% of LDS rate their health as poor.

Finances

LDS bishops and leaders receive no compensation for the time and effort they put into their calling. The Roman Catholic church has a similar set-up for priests in religious orders, who take a vow of poverty and only receive a small allowance. Parish priests receive a salary, health and retirement benefits.

Missionaries and their families are expected to pay their own expenses while on their mission. As of 1990, all young missionaries pay a flat monthly rate to cover living and mission related expenses, which is distributed according to area costs of living. The flat-rate monthly mission cost as of April 2010 is $400 U.S. Missionaries are provided with limited medical care and are required to pay for non-essential medical treatment or to treat preexisting conditions. LDS youth and their families are encouraged to save money throughout childhood to pay for as much of their mission as possible. Married couple missionaries are expected to pay their own costs, but in 2011 the church began paying for missionary couples' housing expenses exceeding $1400 U.S. per month.

It is estimated that about 10% of LDS church funds come from income on its investments. These investments are in for-profit businesses managed through Deseret Management Corp. and are subject to federal, state, and local income and other taxes. The investments include:

Farmland Reserve Inc.- over 590,000 acres of farms and farmland in FL, NE, and OK

Bonneville International Corp. – large U.S. radio chaino Deseret News Publishing, which publishes: the Deseret Morning News (2nd largest morning newspaper in Utah), Mormon Times, LDS Church News, and El Observador

Time magazine estimated in 1996 that the church's assets exceeded $30 billion. This figure excludes current liabilities for maintenance, although the LDS Church incurs virtually no long-term liabilities. After the Time article was published, the LDS Church responded that the financial figures in the article were "grossly exaggerated." Three years later, annual revenues were estimated to be $5 B, with total assets at $25 - $30 B.

68% to 72% of Utah residents say they belong to the LDS Church. Utah’s per-capita income is 45th in the US. Since 2002, Utah has had the highest per-capita bankruptcy rate in the U.S. Experts speculate that while religious affiliation may play a part (e.g. tithing requirements and LDS encouraging large families), the relatively young average age of Utah residents (27, compared to 35 nationally), low salaries, weak job markets, high cost of living, high percent of entrepreneurs, and other economic factors may play a part in the bankruptcy statistic.

About 20% of LDS families have an income less than $10,000 per year, while 15% earn more than $50,000 per year. The only religious group dramatically different from LDS in income distribution is the Jewish: Almost 50% of Jewish families earn $50,000 or more, while less than 10% have incomes below $10,000. Although the differences are small, LDS have a few more middle-income families than other religious groups. 39% of LDS families have incomes between $25,000 and $50,000, which is higher than for any other religious group surveyed.

It is thought that because of the high proportion of Mormons and the LDS Church's own comprehensive welfare system, Utah spends much less of its budget on public welfare than other states. "On average, other states spend 22.4% of their budgets on public welfare; Utah spends 14%."

According to U.S. Bureau of Census data released April 2000, Utah "spends a larger percentage of state dollars on education" than any other state.

11 comments:

Usually the numbers are skewed on actually Mormons. Their policy is to count every single person who has ever been a part of their church from that point on. Even if they haven't been back in 20 years! They are well known for fudging their numbers. I have a close friend who "escaped" them (her words, not mine) and she told me their inflation of numbers is intentional to convince others that "everybody is doing it". Good info!

Back in the mid 1970's I was a credit collector at a major department store. One of the accounts I handled was a young mormon girl who was past due. Now, she never told me why she was late but she said her church was going to help her out. I asked my supervisor and she said the girl was probably mormon As long as she was in good standing and up to date on her titheing her LDS ward will help her out. Lo and behold, a week later I had a check on my desk from this girl's LDS ward church account paying the past due on her account. I'd never heard of that before and it really was a positive for me.

I have never ever ever heard one person say there are more poor Mormons! PLEASE, as for trying to trick people into joining the church get real, are people not smart enough to tell a 19-21 year old no if they don want to? They don't hog tie or kidnap you.

Wow, what really stuck out to me was tha such a large number of lds women claim marital satisfaction and yet such a vast amount of lds men say they are dissattisfied......makes u wonder....apparently these couples are not communicating lol. Also, I had no idea that Utah had the highest bacruptcy rate......sounds like maybe people are irresponsible with their finances. IMO (and its just my opinion), its probably due to trying so hard to keep up with the Jonses....I see a lot of that in the Mormon community.

Wasn't it Rev Ike of Car Wash fame (and of church fame) always had it right. God likes you to prosper. Romney released his taxes for 2010 and from little I scanned, he gifts the Mormon Church with 1.5 to over 2 mil per annum. Not sure if that's an honest 10% of income. Maybe 10% less deductions. But that's a lot money. He gives to charity a somewhat equal amount. No mention of what charities they are. He sure looks stiff and uncomfortable; maybe he'd loosen up if he ditched the undies. Still main point is you are comfortable around those you know. May as well know people who know how to make money. And they sure do well. So, poor people, attach yourself to a Prosperous religion (except for FLDS, you'd have to give them All you money) but you get the drift. The wharehouse ministry on the corner just isn't going to do it for you. Amen.

This link probably deserves its own thread. It's an interview done by Doris Hanson w/Jim Llewellyn who's a former deputy sheriff in Utah. He's a former AUB plyg (Sister Wives brand) of 20 years. He gives GREAT INSIGHT not just on the Brown Clan but also on the Dargers and mainstream Mormonism re: polygamy as well. It's an extremely interesting and currently informative interview given only two weeks ago.

Just a thought- I wonder if the survey is figured for only Americans? The LDS church has high numbers of members in 3rd world countries like latin america and pacific islands. Those could be affecting the numbers if they are then put up against only american figures...just a thought.

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